World News | India Builds Drinking Water Supply Project, University Library in Nepal

Kathmandu, Mar 15 (PTI) A drinking water supply project, built with Indian assistance of USD 347,000, has been inaugurated in Nepal as part of an initiative to celebrate 75 years of India's independence.

The project built in Solukhumbu district in eastern Nepal will provide clean drinking water to nearly 600 households in Khumjung and Kunde villages, as well as to schools, hospitals and government offices.

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Priyadharsini R, First Secretary at the Indian embassy here and Sohan Gyalzen Sherpa, Member of the National Assembly, jointly inaugurated the project on Monday.

“This is one of the 75 projects being inaugurated this year in Nepal as part of ‘India@75 Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' which celebrates 75 years of India's independence,” the Indian embassy here said in a statement.

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The implementation of this project reflects the continued support of India in bolstering the efforts of Nepal in the water-management sector, it said, adding that both countries “enjoy a multi-sectoral and multi-faceted cooperation.”

Since 2003, India has taken up over 523 High Impact Community Development projects in Nepal and completed 467 of them.

Separately, India's Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepal's Minister of Education, Science and Technology Devendra Paudel jointly held the ground-breaking ceremony of India-funded Tribhuvan University Central Library (TUCL) on Tuesday.

The ambassador noted that the "project was a testament to the multi-faceted, strong and robust development partnership between India and Nepal," the Indian embassy here said in another statement.

Built at a cost of USD 2.5 million, the library is part of India's USD 50 million grant assistance to Nepal's education sector.

It will be built as per the earthquake-resilient reconstruction norms of Nepal, technical expertise for which will be provided by the Central Building Research Institute, a premier Indian institute in the field of earthquake-resilient reconstruction.

A grant of USD 250 million has been provided by India to Nepal for earthquake reconstruction, of which USD 50 million is set aside for the educational sector.

A total of 71 educational institutions across 8 districts will be built, of which 14 have already been finished and handed over, while the rest are under construction, the statement said.

The projects showcase the synergised bilateral ties between the two neighbours, it said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)